Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami Men’s Basketball Trailblazer, Don Barnette, Passes Away
9/11/2020 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Don Barnette, who broke the color barrier at Miami University when he came to campus in 1952 and became the first black men's basketball player at Miami, passed away in California on September 4, 2020, at the age of 86.
A two-year letterwinner in basketball, Barnette was a member of Miami's 1954-55 Mid-American Conference championship team. He went on to earn first-team all-MAC and honorable mention all-American honors during his final season in 1955-56. A 1956 Miami graduate, he was inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Following his time at Miami, Barnette went on to spend three years in the Navy where he made the fleet and all-Navy team. From there, the Middletown, Ohio, native spent his next four years earning world-wide notoriety as the Dribbling Wizard, playing for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
A two-year letterwinner in basketball, Barnette was a member of Miami's 1954-55 Mid-American Conference championship team. He went on to earn first-team all-MAC and honorable mention all-American honors during his final season in 1955-56. A 1956 Miami graduate, he was inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Following his time at Miami, Barnette went on to spend three years in the Navy where he made the fleet and all-Navy team. From there, the Middletown, Ohio, native spent his next four years earning world-wide notoriety as the Dribbling Wizard, playing for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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